


Learning to Love Again

by Trash_Princess215



Series: Loving You Wasn't Supposed to be Easy [1]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Angst, F/M, there will also be sin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-21
Updated: 2016-04-27
Packaged: 2018-05-28 01:58:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 13,150
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6310288
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Trash_Princess215/pseuds/Trash_Princess215
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Chat Noir finally confesses his feelings to Ladybug, she reveals that she has a crush on someone else. Needing someone to talk to, he settles on Marinette and they chat about crushes and unrequited love until late in the night. Finding Marinette to be much more awesome than he realized, he resolves to spend more time with her as Adrien. But after months of hanging out, he begins to feel things again that he never thought he would feel again.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Confession

**Author's Note:**

> As I said in the tags, this is my first fanfic. But I've written other things! Please leave any suggestions/criticisms/whatever in the comments please :D I can't get better if I don't know what to fix >n

     A hardly noticeable black flash through the Parisian night, Chat Noir howled in glee as he bounded from roof to roof. It felt so good to be free from his responsibilities as Adrien and simply enjoy the night. His days were full of being instructed on the minute degree his chin must be held and how he should really hold his arms just so. Not that he minded modelling of course, but his father kept him on a tight schedule and left little room for fun.  
     That’s when he noticed someone fall into step with him. Though her red and black suit was much more noticeable than his all black one, it was decidedly cuter. “My Lady! How good of you to join me on a romantic stroll through Paris! Don’t you think this night is simply purrfect?” He smirked. Being Chat Noir also freed him from the societal expectations of him being the one and only son of fashion designer Gabriel Agreste, and he was fully taking advantage of his ability to misbehave. Though, as usual, Ladybug was having none of his constant flirtations.  
     “No thanks, I actually already had plans this evening. You see, there happens to be a city that I’m rather fond of, and protecting it is kind of my job. I suggest you find someone else to flirt with,” She said almost conversationally, but with a fair amount of irritation. He couldn’t follow up with a retort because they had taken separate paths around a large steeple, but he felt a bit wounded if he was being truthful. She was his Lady, after all.  
     Seeing where their paths could converge again, he called out to her, “But my Lady! I only have eyes for you! I-“ he cut off, realizing that perhaps screaming to all of Paris how he felt about Ladybug wouldn’t be the best idea. Let alone the romantic and cheesy way he’d constantly imagined it. But, this constant flirting had gone on long enough, he thought. And the full moon was looking particularly romantic by the Eiffel Tower, he realized with a spark of inspiration. Noticing that Ladybug had gone on with the rest of her patrol, he caught up with her and gestured for her to follow.

* * *

  
     “What’s going on? Can you see an Akuma?” Ladybug asked, glancing worriedly around from the top of the Eiffel Tower but soon realized that Chat wasn’t getting ready for a battle, usually he was already making bad puns. In fact, he looked downright…nervous. “Chat?”  
     “I love you!” he blurted out, “I’ve been trying to show you for years now how I feel but flirting doesn’t seem to be helping me anyway and it seems to be making things worse but you’re the only one I’ve had eyes on since we first met. I love you, Ladybug.” He continued babbling on, but Ladybug just stood there in shock, hearing nothing but the roaring in her ears. Which felt like they were on fire, and no doubt as red as the rest of her suit.  
     “Listen, Chat. Umm, I-uhh appreciate the sentiment. Truly. But I already have a crush on someone else, so I really can’t see you in that way.” she stammered, her entire face soon a bright red.  
     “Oh. Well, if you ever need some help talking some sense into this fellow, then you can count on me!” Chat grinned, giving a thumbs-up as he leaned against the railing.  
     “Are you okay? Are- are we okay? As partners?” she asked, nervous on how this would affect their abilities as crime fighters, but she was glad on how well Chat seemed to be taking her rejection.  
     “Of course! Cats always land on their feet, remember?” He smiled again, seeming no worse for wear. “It seems like a quiet night, how about I finish up the patrol? I can handle it.”  
     “Cool, see you tomorrow night then. Unless there’s another Akuma attack of course,” she joked a bit and set off back home, hopefully to catch some much needed zzz’s. She’d have plenty of time tomorrow to think on Chat’s sudden declaration.

* * *

  
     “I already have a crush on someone else.” He felt his heart drop. She liked someone else. She probably didn’t realize she had the cutest blush on her face before she realized what he said, and the small blush turned bright red. His first reaction was to play it off, and he was grateful for that when he noticed that she let out a breath and seemed much more relaxed around him.  
     “Are you okay?” she asked tentatively, and he wanted nothing more than to scream at the top of his lungs at how very un-okay he was feeling right now. “Are we okay? As partners?”  
     “Of course! Cats always land on their feet, remember?” He wouldn’t let this affect their working relationship, all of Paris depended on them keeping the city safe from Hawk Moth. But he let her believe that his cheery “Of course!” extended to him being okay. He invited her to go home and sleep while he finished patrol. He might’ve been an idiot for falling in love but not enough of one to not notice that she seemed much more tired of late. So was he, with finals swiftly approaching but he thought she might appreciate the time off more.  
     He scoffed at himself, “Always putting her first, aren’t I?” And that’s when the tears started, firstly it was only a few, but once they began he couldn’t stop himself from sobbing completely. He went from casually leaning against the railing to clutching it for dear life. Then kneeling and clutching onto the bars desperately, his only support from curling up like a child. He felt like such an idiot, a fool. Hating himself for falling in love with a girl he knew almost nothing about, hating Hawk Moth for being so active in his criminal career because it meant that he could see her all the time, falling even more in love with her with every Lucky Charm and with every fist bump. But he couldn’t bring himself to hate Ladybug. Never his Lady.  
     After a while, he managed to stop crying and wiped the tears off his face, and consequently finding how bad leather was at drying. He needed someone to talk to, but who? While Nino was his best friend, he couldn’t really justify Chat Noir going over to his house to talk about girls. Then he realized that perhaps Marinette could help? She was his classmate, and a friend he felt he could confide in and she had been a huge help with the Evillustrator. Plus she was kind enough to hopefully help a stray kitty. He always thought she was a cool girl, but she always seemed to be painfully shy around him. Maybe because they didn’t know each other well? He made a mental note to try and hang out with her more.  
     After his sobbing, he felt more emotionally numb than anything. And a more than a little bit dehydrated. Confident in his choice, he began the trek to Marinette’s house, a bakery with some of the best pastries in France. He was pleased when he noted that her light was still on. Though he noted her terrace latch was still open, he opted to knock on her window instead. Best not to break in when you want somebody’s help, Chat reckoned that Paris wouldn't take too kindly to that news.  
Marinette jumped at the noise, eyes widening when she saw that it was Chat Noir hanging out the side of her house. But she soon looked concerned when she noticed the state that he was in. She ran to the door leading to her terrace and quickly asked what was wrong. She seemed to be genuinely concerned, even though she thought that they had only met once. Another check for Marinette being awesome.  
     “Can I talk to you?” he asked, voice still dry and much more melancholy than he had anticipated.


	2. The Chat with Chat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Marinette and Chat Noir talk about their crushes, oblivious to the fact that they are both talking to their respective objects of affection

     While Ladybug swung back home, she pondered Chat’s confession. She had planned on thinking on it in the morning, but when she thought about it, it really did make a great deal of sense. Though he had flirted a bit with her as Marinette, it was a great deal less than what he gave to Ladybug. It might even be his subconscious telling him that she was Ladybug. And while he was perfectly charming as Chat (if you could call it that), it was never Ladybug levels of flirtatious. Though, to his credit, he never flirted with Chloe.

     Once she got home and transformed back into Marinette, she changed into her pajamas and was soon getting ready for bed. Tikki apparently had similar plans, as she quickly zoomed into her hidden bed after a quick good night. As she took out her pigtails, she eyed her history homework, only half finished. She would just have to ask Alya for the rest in the morning before class started.

     That is, until she noticed that her best friend sent her a text that she had gone out on a date with Nino and asked if she could give her the homework to copy in homeroom. Marinette groaned and slogged out her textbook and settled into filling out dates and names and soon got lost in the reverie of homework. So when there was a sudden knock on the window in front of her, she was needless to say, extremely startled and just barely resisted the urge to scream. But when she noticed it was Chat Noir, a Chat Noir with red rimmed eyes, she began to scream internally. Whatever he told her on the Eiffel Tower was just to assuage her, which was caused her heart to give a small pang.

     She almost ran up her ladder, well almost as fast as she could without tripping, and quickly asked, “Chat Noir?! What’s wrong?”

     “Can I talk to you?” he asked glumly, but with hope that she’d agree to a random late night chat with Chat Noir. A combination she was having as much trouble refusing as Manon’s puppy eyes. Instead of answering, she gestured for him to follow her down the ladder, grateful that Tikki was already in bed. Since he had been obviously crying, she fetched him a glass of water, which he drank greedily. With an apologetic smile, he held the glass out, clearly still in need of refreshment. Marinette rolled her eyes and refilled the glass. He drank slower but still drained the cup.

     Their entire exchange had been silent since he asked for her to talk to him so she sat on her bed and waited for him to start. Following her example, he sat on her chaise and was quiet for a bit, seemingly collecting his thoughts. “I-I need someone to talk to, and you’re the only person I could think of.” he started, looking at her for permission to continue. She nodded, and gestured for him to go on. “I can’t really get close to anyone when I’m Chat, and I can’t go to Ladybug, obviously,” his voice gave a small hitch but continued on, “Because I just told her I was in love with her. And she gave me a very gentle no. A-Apparently she likes someone else.” A few tears escaped at his last statement, but he seemed to steel himself.

     “I see,” was all Marinette could say. Feeling very guilty at the sight of Chat being so sad and well, un-Chat-like. “So what are you going to do, then?”

     “Oh, I’ll find some way to get over her. I don’t expect it to be easy, but I won’t let it interfere with work when we fight Akumas. Citizens like you are safe from that, I can promise you that,” he gave a small smile. “I’m sorry I’m using you as dumping ground, I just really needed someone to talk to. And maybe get my thoughts in order,” he apologized.

     “It’s okay,” Marinette smiled outwardly, but inside she was feeling worse on how Chat was feeling. “I have an unrequited crush too, though I don’t think he ever thinks of me more than a distant friend,” she blurted out.

     Chat’s eyes widened, “Do tell, now that we’re sharing secrets and everything.”

     Cursing herself, she responded with a small grunt and gestured around her room. “Who do you think?”

     He seemed to look around her room for the first time and soon recognition flooded his eyes as he took in all the pictures of Adrien Agreste modelling pinned up to her room. “Isn’t he a model? A bit old for you?” he asked once he looked over all of her room.

     “He happens to be in my grade, if you must know,” she frowned and picked up her pillow and hugged it to her chest. “I sit behind him in almost all our classes. He’s really nice, even though he’s rich with a famous dad. Which can’t be said for Chloe, she-well, you’ve met her, haven’t you?” He nodded, and she continued.

     “I get all flustered around him and can barely speak when he’s around, so I don’t really know all that much about him but still. I like him so much I can barely stand it sometimes,” her voice took on a melancholy tone near the end and tightly squeezed the pillow. “I know how you feel,” Chat joked. “Rather pathetic, but the fact is that the heart doesn’t often pick the best person for us to love.” he sighed.

     After talking for a few more hours, he got up from the chaise and started up the ladder. “Thanks a lot, Marinette. You don’t know how much this meant to me,” he gave her a smile, not quite Chat’s flirtatious one but it was warmer, somehow. Then before she could respond, he was already out of her house and leaping around Paris. After pondering if Chat would really be okay, she glanced at the clock…and then her textbook. And deciding that it was Alya’s fault for not being more on top of her homework, turned off the light and soon fell asleep.

* * *

     “Marinette has a crush on me,” Adrien mused once he got inside and took off his suit. Though he was still heartbroken over Ladybug’s rejection, he wasn’t so self-centered that he wouldn’t even think of the girl he had only considered as a friend having romantic feelings for him. He had already planned on spending more time with her, kicking himself for being too busy thinking of Ladybug to think about his other friends. Adrien had been upset when Marinette only considered herself his ‘distant’ friend. But hopefully if she spent more time with him it could help her get over him. And if not, he’d find a way to let her down gently. Marinette deserved more, but it was the best he could do at the moment. And if he was being honest with himself, he was hoping to distract himself from thinking about Ladybug with spending time with friends.

     “What if you end up liking her back?” Plagg asked as he ate his nightly bribe of camembert.

     Adrien paused and tried of Marinette in a romantic sense, but simply couldn’t at the moment. He was still too hung up on Ladybug and heartbroken to see anyone in that way. “Well, we’ll cross that road when we come to it,” he said diplomatically and settled in for the night. He had hoped that he didn’t have any more tears to shed for Ladybug, but his tear spotted pillow said otherwise.


	3. Study Breaks and Hugs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Alya suggests a study group to help everyone pass their finals, and to set up a pair of lovable dorks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so so much for all the support! But here's another chapter, I hope you enjoy it :D

“Marinette! I was counting on you!” Alya cried when she found out that Marinette hadn’t finished the homework either.

                “I didn’t get your text until late, I thought you were going to do it,” Marinette shrugged sheepishly. She couldn’t really admit that after doing Akuma patrols as Ladybug, then being confessed to by Chat, then talking late into the night with Chat as Marinette had really done a number on her and she was simply exhausting. Just thinking about it made her exhausted.

                “Hey Alya,” Nino waved once he entered the room. Ever since Animan, they had been a perfect couple. Marinette gave a small smile when Nino came up and gave Alya a quick kiss before getting into his seat. Alya had huge grin on her face, all thoughts of her incomplete history homework were gone. They chatted some about the killer party they had gone to, apparently Nino had won in a DJ-off?

But soon after Nino, came Adrien.

                Marinette could look at him forever, he simply was perfect. She gave a happy sigh and let herself gaze over his beautiful green eyes, the perfectly style golden blond hair, his-

                “Good morning Nino, Marinette. Hello Alya,” Adrien greeted…me.

                “Good morning,” she replied reflexively. Thankful she didn’t screw up something as simple as a good morning. Progress.

                “So Alya, did you get your homework for history finished? I crashed after that party and forgot all about it,” Nino was leaning on Alya’s side of the desk, pleading.

                “Man, we’re all a mess. I was going to get Marinette’s but _somebody_ didn’t get my message cuz she was already asleep.”

                “I finished already, do you want mine?” Adrien piped up.

                And then 3 pairs of eyes ravenously stared at the sheaf of papers in Adrien’s hands. They all crowded around Adrien, furiously filling in answers and scrubbing out the wrong answers to put in new ones. When it got this close to finals week, everyone put in much more effort in a last-ditch attempt to counteract the actual test.

                “Did you know that students nowadays experience more anxiety than mental patients in the 50’s?” Alya groaned as she filed back into her seat.

                “I wouldn’t doubt it, to be honest,” Marinette replied. “But the anxiety gives me adrenaline, which helps me study.”

                “Yeah, or...we make a study group?” Alya suggested, her face lighting up with the idea.

                “The four of us? I’m down,” Nino exclaimed, pounding fists with Adrien.

                “It’ll nice to spend more time with you guys. Plus my father really can’t say no if we’re studying.”

                Everyone looked at Marinette and she stumbled out, “Sounds great!” before pulling out her notebook to talk with Alya about her ‘idea’.

                “What were you thinking??” she furiously wrote out, tilting the page Alya’s way so the teacher wouldn’t see.

                “I was thinking about passing my finals. And spending more time with Nino and you :D” was the response from Alya’s binder.

                “What about Adrien??? Do you want my grades to get worse?!”

                “You’ll need to either get over him or spend more time with him because distant adoration is getting you nowhere.”

                “Yeah, so he’ll get to see the Awkwardness of Marinette up close!”

                “He’s a human being, honey. I suggest you stop putting him on a pedestal.”

                Marinette was fuming a bit at Alya’s last remark when her binder nudged her arm again, “Speaking of, don’t you think he looks a bit down today?”

                Marinette glanced down at Adrien and noticed how his shoulders were slumped over, a far cry from his perfect model posture. He seemed to sigh a lot and she wished desperately to see what his face looked like.

                “He does seem upset, but I do not put him on a pedestal!” she wrote back quickly, before Ms. Bustier could change the slide.

                “Ha,” was the only reply.

 

* * *

 

                They all met up at a cute little café close to the school, and having missed the school rush because Adrien had fencing lessons to go to once classes let out, the shop didn’t have many patrons. Once they all got their drinks and a few snacks, Alya pulled out her schedule and homework and motioned for everyone to do the same.

                “Alright, so I was thinking our first meeting would be to nail down the details of scheduling and whatever first to make sure we can all come. At least for the majority of the time,” Alya added with a glance at Adrien. His schedule was definitely the most packed.

                “Good idea, last time I tried a study group, we did it by ear and we didn’t do many meetings,” Nino joked, “Glad my girl’s got a knack for planning,” he added and gave Alya quick kiss on the cheek before he too started to pull out his homework from his bookbag.

                Adrien opened up the calendar app on his phone and frowned at all the appointments he had, everyone was definitely going to have to schedule around him. He knew Nino had a few music lessons a week and was pretty sure that Alya’s only other extracurricular was the Ladyblog. If there was a drastic decrease in views, he was definitely the cause. Since that night on the Eiffel Tower, he went from checking it constantly to almost not at all. It was good for checking for Akuma attacks, though more mainstream social media and news sources had been his preferred method of late.

“So Adrien, you’re the one with the most prior commitments, what times are good for you?” Alya asked. He slid over his phone, still open to the calendar, and Nino whistled.

                “You’ve got so many modelling sessions, I hope they turn out okay, I mean you look great so I doubt they’d look bad, but-“, Marinette began to stammer and looked to Alya for help.

                “She hopes your modelling goes smoothly and without complications,” Alya translated, and he gave thanks to Marinette. She blushed, but Adrien thought it looked adorable.

                “I don’t have anything outside of working at the bakery on weekends, mostly just in the morning and afternoon though,” Marinette piped up, her face still red. And after much debate, they settled on Fridays at 4pm and would rotate houses to go to. All their parents had agreed to it if it was for studying, though Adrien knew the answer without even having to text his father, but thankfully Nino was the one who added that he had no desire to run into Papa Agreste any time soon, especially since it had gotten him akumatized.

                Once they all got that settled, they started doing the homework that had been assigned today. Plus a few late assignments, Adrien thought as everyone gave out silly suggestions for Marinette’s late English project. After about an hour and a half though, everyone was feeling drained. “As leader, I am officially calling a study break,” Alya announced. They all got more caffeine and took a few bathroom breaks, but the morale was definitely down.

                “Soooo, what do you think about Ladybug and Chat Noir? You think they’re a thing? I want to do a bit on the Ladyblog on their relationship. Their ship name is LadyNoir, spread the word.” Alya asked, laptop at the ready.

                Adrien grimaced and made excuses as he left. Ducking behind the partition that separated the café from the bathrooms, he slid down and covered his face with his hands. He felt he would never be free from Ladybug and he cursed himself for being such a flirt. He had been trying to get his Lady to like him, but now it was coming back to bite him in the ass. He just wanted to get over her, but where was he going to find a girl like Ladybug?

                “Adrien? Are you okay?” Marinette asked as she came on the other side of the wall and kneeled down beside him.

                He blinked, “Yeah, it’s just-it’s nothing,” he mumbled.

                “It certainly doesn’t look like nothing, so why don’t you tell me what’s bothering you?” she said, almost all in one breath.

                With a sigh, he began to lie, to his friend. “You see, there’s this girl I like and umm, she was a huge fan of Ladybug. Like I am. I liked her a lot, but she didn’t know and now she’s got…a boyfriend. So, yeah it still hurts.” He tried to keep it as truthful as possible, but since Marinette already heard him talk about his Ladybug troubles as Chat, he tried to keep out any similarities. Leading a double life is hard, he thought with a frown.

                “Oh Adrien,” Marinette cried and gave him a hug. He leaned into her touch, she really did give good hugs.

                That is, until she pulled away and started stammering, “I’m so sorry, it’s just you looked bad, not bad but sad, not that you could ever look bad, and I just wanted to hug you.”

                Adrien laughed and pulled Marinette for another hug, “It’s okay, and I needed one anyway.” Marinette was tense for a while, but slowly began to relax into his hug. He felt bad, like he was taking advantage of her kindness when she still liked him.

                “I’m glad you’re my friend,” he said once she began to pull away and the sunny smile Marinette gave him began to light up some of the darkness. Perhaps not all of it, but it was a start. Selfish or not, he decided that if that sunny smile made him feel this much better, he would do whatever it took to see it all the time.


	4. Magic! at the Club

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Adrien, Alya, Marinette, and Nino all celebrate the end of finals with a trip to the new underage club in Paris.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the love! I wanted this posted way earlier in the week but there was papers and homework to do :(
> 
> by the way, the song in the club is called Magic by Mystery Skulls, so if you wanna listen to it, it's on Youtube (general disclaimer that I don't own the song Magic or profited from it in any way...also Miraculous Ladybug now that I think about it)

                “Was math made to torture students??” Adrien sighed as his head hit the desk, pencil and calculator still in hand.

                “Well, obviously. We can’t take over the world if we’re struggling over homework problems,” Marinette laughed, breezing through her English finals study guide. Not that the assignment was easy, by no means. But Alya’s class was ahead of her and she was delighted to have help. Also the fact that she could actually talk to Adrien Agreste was a big factor in her disposition. It hadn’t been easy, but the day in the café helped her see him more as a classmate and an actual human, and she could finally take him off the pedestal Alya had accused her of. But it only made her crush grow. Every time she saw him her heart skipped a beat and butterflies danced around in her stomach but experience taught her how to swallow her stammering and simply _talk_ to him.

                “We should hang out after finals together, with Alya and Nino too! A celebration for the whole study group,” he smiled as he looked at Marinette. She looked at the vacant chairs around their usual table at the café. It had quickly become their hangout spot as of late, and she was glad she had become almost as good friends with Adrien and Nino as she was with Alya. Though, since it was Alya and Nino’s weekly date night, it was just Marinette and Adrien today.

                “That sounds like a great idea! I could definitely use time to destress after finals week is over. Plus it’d be a great kickoff to summer vacation!” she enthused, growing warmer to the plan. “I heard there was this great new club opening up soon, but it’s only for minors.”

                “The one that the Mayor funded? I’m sure if I asked nicely I could get 4 VIP tickets,” Adrien grinned.

                “As much as I’d _hate_ to use Chloe for a favour, I could use some VIP treatment.”

                “Consider it done!”

* * *

               “My brain died half way through, Alya kiss it better,” Nino moaned as they left their last class of the day. And finished their last final. Alya obliged, and Nino took the chance to sneak in a peck on her cheek. Adrien smiled as he remembered the surprise he and Marinette had been planning since before the start of hell week. He liked treating his friends and he couldn’t think of a better group of friends than the ones he had now. Shame it took a broken heart to make it possible for it to grow.

                “So, you glad that finals are over?” Alya grinned as Marinette stepped out of her art class. Marinette was practically glowing as she unfurled her final project stamped with an A in the corner. Her smile was infectious and everyone hugged her, knowing just how hard she had worked to please the very demanding art teacher.

                “Marinette looks so lovely when she smiles,” Adrien thought warmly, allowing himself to bask in her sunshine smile as he usually did. She was usually smiling when she was with friends, but these were special. And oh so important for healing him of his heartache, which was thankfully growing less with each passing day.

                “So Alya, Nino, we got a surprise for you!” Marinette exclaimed, nearly jumping in her excitement.

                “You mean you two are finally getting together?!” Nino asked, soon followed by Alya elbowing him in the stomach and gesturing for her friend to go on.

                “N-no, definitely not! But Adrien has been kind enough to brave asking Chloe for,” Marinette paused to fish around in her bookbag, “These!” she pulled out the two tickets and distributed them to Alya and Nino. “We already got ours.”

                Alya and Marinette started jumping together in excitement at getting VIP treatment in the newest and coolest underage club in Paris while Adrien and Nino just had the one armed guy hug.

                “Thanks for the gift bro, it’ll be almost like…a double date,” Nino winked and went off to drag off Alya for their date.

 

* * *

 

                “Tonight, you should totally get with Adrien,” Alya grinned as she smudged the makeup around her eyes trying to get the smoky eye look.

                “But, I can’t,” Marinette pouted as she tried on yet another top in the mirror.

                “It’s obvious you still like him, probably even more so since you gained the ability to talk to the boy.”

                “He likes someone else,” Marinette bunched up the fabric in her fingers, “At least, he did when we started the study group. But his crush has a boyfriend now and I think he’s just trying to get over her at the moment. Like, I want to be with him but if it was any time soon, I might just end up as a rebound? Someone to help him get over her and be tossed aside?”

                “Girl, you know Adrien isn’t like that! He is a perfect gentleman,” Alya said sternly, firmly grasping Marinette’s shoulders.

                “I know, I know. But I still have fears about it. So I tried to push my feelings away to just be his friend, because he seemed like he needed that more and once I think of him as my friend, I can treat him as such. I dunno if that makes any sense or not,” Marinette rambled, glad to have someone to talk about how she felt.

                “Oh honey, you really got it bad don’t you?”

                Marinette sighed loudly and started rifling through her clothes. “Yeah, I really do. I can’t really get over him because he’s so goddamn perfect and all I really want is for us to go live perfect lives, have a perfect marriage with perfect kids in a perfect house. Damn, the word just lost all meaning. Anyway, I’ve tried so hard to just be his friend, but…I can’t.”

                “Marinette Dupain-Cheng, you will be in love with Adrien for the rest of your life if it continues like this. How about this shirt?” she asked, holding up a black strapless tunic.

                “You’ll be jumping.”

                “Shit, right,” Alya cursed before deciding on a pair of gray shorts and a pink and yellow tank.

                “So tonight is either give up on Adrien or finally tell him how I feel?”

                Alya nodded and patted Marinette’s head. “Now get dressed unless you intend on wooing Adrien in bra and panties.”

                “Shit.”

 

* * *

 

                “OH MY GOD THIS IS GREAT,” Alya screamed from the VIP balcony, earning quite a few disapproving looks from the security guards but with none other than Adrien Agreste in their presence, they weren’t about to kick them out any time soon. He smiled, happy that his friends were enjoying themselves so thoroughly.

                Nino was stoked just listening to the music, Alya was either taking pictures of everything or persuading her boyfriend into actually dancing to the music. Then his eyes slid over to Marinette and for the hundredth time that night, his breath caught in his throat. She was beautiful.

                Her hair was down tonight instead of her usual pigtails and was wearing just a lacy black bralette and black high waisted shorts, she opted for leaning over the railing and giving a small butt wiggle every so often. He gave a small groan, he never really noticed her ass before but now it seemed like he couldn’t _not_ look at it.

                Adrien walked over to the railing and tapped Marinette’s shoulder, “Do you want to dance?” he almost yelled to be heard over the loud speakers. Though he couldn’t be sure in the dim lights, it looked like Marinette was blushing as she nodded. He led her away from the couches and into the more open area. It was really hot in the club, even away from the large body mass but he couldn’t really take off his black button up shirt since Plagg was hiding under there. The best he could do was roll up his sleeves he realized with a sigh.

                “This is really great of you Adrien! Thank you!!” Marinette smiled again, and he liked it even more than what little she was wearing right now. Which was quite something as a matter of fact. They waited for the last song to fade out when the next song came on.

 

The spell you got on me

It’s like magic

Got me feeling like I’m fallin’ in love

 

                Marinette was definitely blushing when the next song came on, “We can dance to the next one, i-it’s alright. Not that it’s a bad song, or maybe it is I never heard of it before,” Marinette started stammering when Adrien just laughed and took Marinette’s hand.

                “It’s just a song, it’s okay.” Or that is, I was just a song after it hit the chorus. Before then they just danced a little bit more friendly than usual but that could’ve been explained away by the atmosphere or the seemingly up beat love song coming through the speakers. 

 

It’s not the way you wear your hair

Oh, you just cut down to there (oh, no)

It’s not the way you move your eyes

Though it took me by surprise (oh no)

               

This time it was Adrien’s turn to blush, realizing the implications of ‘down there’, and Marinette must’ve only realized after he did. Her eyes darted down and back up to his face and he forced a small laugh. Though he might’ve enjoyed her wide-eyed stare a bit more than he should have, he didn’t let on any.

 

Before this night is over

I pull your body closer

I wanna give it to you

I wanna give it back

 

                Following the rhythm of the song, Marinette began drawing in closer to him as he did to her. Their bodies began to touch, hands skimming each other’s planes and curves. Getting more than a little hot and bothered, Adrien pulled her body closer and almost completely closed the gap between them.

 

Before this night is over

I pull your body closer

 

                This time, Marinette pulled close enough to meld their bodies together and it almost began to be too much for him. He blessed this song, this band, this club and all the things that conspired to get this beautiful girl to dance for him like this. “She might still like you, y’know,” his inner voice whispered devilishly in his ear and at the moment he was wishing very desperately that it was true. And thinking maybe, just maybe he was beginning to like Marinette.

                When the song ended, he began to lower his head and as Marinette’s eyes fluttered closed…he heard the screaming. Running to the ledge, he saw a man on stage wearing nothing but low riding leather pants and wielding giant drum sticks. An akuma.

                “We got to get to safety!” Marinette yelled, heading down the stairs and was soon lost in the crowd. Adrien plunged into the crowd as well and headed back stage to transform.

                “Plagg,” he hissed as he pulled out his kwami, “Claws out!” as the green light enveloped him and leather encased his body instead of cotton and denim he saw a pink light fade off near the ladies room. Ladybug was here already?

                “Hey! I’m the only one who gets to rock the leather here! You got to be kitten me right meow!” he called out as he waited for his partner to show up. They hadn’t had an akuma in a while for which he was extremely thankfully, since he could finally focus primarily on work and on his studies.

                “Chat! What are you doing here so soon?” Ladybug called out from across the now vacant club.

                “I was probably doing the same thing you were, enjoying these nice new digs. Enjoying some music. By the way, isn’t he the drummer from the previous band?”

                “The one who asked out his band member on stage, but he just ran off? That does seem rather akuma worthy. It’s probably his sticks then,” Ladybug deduced.

                “Alright, cool,” Chat called back as he dodged another one of the Akuma’s attacks. Though he had drum sticks, the drummer used them more as dual wielding clubs and tore down the various instruments and kept most of the damage to the stage. Thankful that the Lucky Charm repaired all the damage, Chat focused on just trying to fight off the drummer.

                “Lucky Charm!” he heard Ladybug shout and after a few blunders with the red and black polka dotted candle, they finally got the guitar sticks and Ladybug snapped them on her knee. After the butterfly was cleansed and they had their customary fist bump, he thought about how much his heart didn’t ache nearly as much as he thought it would, though the dull ache was still there. But if only hurt like this when he was in her presence, then he’d take it.

                “Catch ya later, Ladybug, hope you can get your dancing shoes back on,” Chat said cheerfully, and was about run off to transform when a hand curled around his wrist.

                “Chat? Are you doing okay? About…us?” Ladybug asked, genuine concern in her voice.

                “Absolutely! I told you that cats always land on their feet, remember?” and with that he ran off for privacy and went back to the hidey hole he found near the stage. Waiting until he heard people streaming in again, Adrien crept out and asked a few people if it was over for posterity and got back to the VIP area where Alya and Nino were talking animatedly about the awesome fight they missed.

                But after a while and Marinette still wasn’t showing, Adrien started to get scared. He was sure there weren’t any civilians caught in the Akuma’s attack (the fight was over too quick for them to catch the name) but now he wasn’t so sure.

                “Marinette?” he called out worriedly over the balcony and went rushing down the stairs to try and find her. He slipped on a few of the stairs but he just grabbed onto the railing for balance and looked around the club for her. Selfish as it may be, he _needed_ her, with her sunshine smile and wide blue eyes always alight with mirth.

                “Adrien,” he heard a sob of relief and braced himself as a small body collided into his and squeezed him tightly.

                “I was worried you got caught in the akuma attack,” Adrien admitted and ruffled her hair.

                “I got lost in the mob,” she confessed into his chest.

                Angling her head up, he looked into her eyes and smiled, “Well, I’m glad you’re safe.” Closing his eyes, he felt his head tilting down but he couldn’t stop himself and his mind was lost in the moment. He could feel Marinette’s breath and was soon going to kis-

                “Marinette!” Alya called out when she spotted her friend, probably even more frantic than he was. When he turned back, Marinette’s face was tomato red and after a moment ran out of the club. Adrien tried to follow her, but the crowd was too dense and he was left thoroughly confused.


	5. The Bro Code

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which a late night visitor talks some sense into Marinette and she makes a couple very important phone calls

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry for the long update, everything was due at the same time and all was chaos. But I'm back, and with a new chapter!

                 Marinette screamed into her pillow again and again. “Fuck!” She felt absolutely stupid for leaving Adrien hanging there, but she panicked.

                “It’s okay, Marinette. You can always explain to him later that it was all a misunderstanding!” Tikki said cheerfully. Marinette was appreciative of her kwami’s help, but she was still positively mortified.

                “But Tikki, he was going to kiss me! And I left!” she groaned into her pillow.

                “So why did you leave?”

                “Well, after the talk with Alya I was wondering if I should let him go or actually go after him then he started to kiss me and I wasn’t expecting it and I don’t know. I suppose it’s all up to me if I turn him down or…encourage him. But what if I end up embar-AHH!” In the middle of her talk with Tikki, a head popped up in the window. A very blond headed and feline head.

                Racing up the stairs, she immediately called out, “What the shit, Chat?!” as soon as she had the latch open.

                “Noticed you at the club tonight, wanted to stop by, say hi…hi, Marinette! You look lovely by the way,” he said conversationally as he went down into Marinette’s room, giving an appreciative eye of the club outfit she had yet to change out of. Eye twitching, she followed him down.

                Relieved that Tikki was already hiding in her secret bed, Marinette struggled to ask why Chat was in her room but was afraid she would just end up screaming. Which is not something she wanted to explain to her parents downstairs.

                “Wondering why I’m here?” he asked smugly, lounging on her chaise. All she could do was nod.

                “Well, you see. I wanted to thank you for helping me out with my Ladybug problems. Thanks to you, I’ve been getting over her and I’m sure Paris has you to thank.”

                “Thank you Chat, now if you would kindly-” Marinette spoke in a controlled manner, gesturing to the terrace when she was interrupted.

                “No no, I’m here for another reason. By order of the bro code.”

                She rolled her eyes, “The what?”

                “The bro code, etiquette for men on friendship with other men. Get with the times. Anyway, while I was transforming back I noticed that you, lil lady, spurned none other than Adrien Agreste! How rude, I thought you liked him.”

                Feeling a deep need to start sobbing, Marinette stared at Chat in frustration. Why did Chat Noir have to take an interest in her love life? Didn’t he have Paris to save or something? She did too, but it’s not like he knew that.

                “I-I really don’t think you need to know why I do anything I do,” she sniffed indignantly.

                “Look, I just want to help you like you helped me, and you probably still like him after all this time still because otherwise you would’ve denied it by now. So, why pull the runner?”

                “It’s all so complicated,” she cried.

                “I got time,” Chat casually replied as he reclined lazily.

                “See, I do still like Adrien. But apparently he’s getting over a girl who had recently gotten a boyfriend but now I’m just worried I’ll be a rebound and be tossed aside.”

                “What a prick he must be, if you think he’ll do that.”

                “No! He’s practically perfect, well maybe not perfect. But he’s good and sweet, and-oh.”

                “Right. Sorry Marinette, but you’re being stupid. Now give him a ring, ask him to take you somewhere nice, I’m sure Moneybags can afford it, and go live off happily with this supposedly good and sweet man.”

                Chat got up and was heading towards the terrace ladder before Marinette stopped him, “And if it was just a spur of the moment?”

                “Did you even see how frantically he was looking for you? I can guarantee he feels at least a little something for you. Au revoir!” And with that he was gone, with only his golden hair visible in the Parisian night. When he was no longer visible at all, Marinette bit down on her lip and pulled up Adrien’s contact in her phonebook. His picture was cropped from a group picture of their study group, his eyes alight with mirth and a huge goofy grin on his face. After staring at it, she shook her head and took a deep breath.

                And pressed call.

 

* * *

 

                Adrien was already in his house and changed for bed already when Marinette finally called. He had taken it everywhere with him, jumping at it when it gave a notification. Plagg had already laughed at him for this on more than once. But when it finally did ring he scooped it up and swiped to answer without any hesitation.

                “Hey Marinette!” he greeted, wincing at how chipper his voice sounded.

                “Willyougooutwithme?” Though he had a pretty clear understanding of what she was trying to ask him, the words themselves were unclear.

                “I’m sorry what?”

                He heard a deep breath on the phone before he heard Marinette ask again, much slower, “Will you go out with me?” and he was pleasantly surprised at how forward she was, he had half been expecting to have to beat around the bush for a while before she finally asked.

                “Like on a date?” he enjoyed teasing her, partly for making him wait so long. And having to bribe Plagg so he could talk some sense in her as Chat. She certainly treated Chat differently than she did when he was just Adrien. He hoped that she didn't have something against Chat Noir, he was Adrien's alter-ego after all and thus a part of him.

                “Y-yeah. I’ve wanted to go out with you for a while now, maybe longer than I care to admit and I-uh, I’ve been building confidence since you almost kissed me.”

                “Really now? So why’d you run then?”

                “I think I like you too much,” was the almost inaudible reply.

                “Le Meurice on Friday, I’ll have you picked up at 7pm. Can’t wait to see you,” Feeling smug being able to take Marinette some place that expensive, though she totally deserved it, he ended the call with a self-satisfied smirk. He had a date to look forward to.

 

* * *

 

                As soon as she hung up the phone, Marinette screamed into her pillow but for quite a different reason than earlier. Le Meurice was one of the best restaurants in Paris. And she was going on her first date there, with Adrien! Fumbling with her phone, she sent the details to Alya, knowing better than to keep her best friend out of the loop.

                Almost immediately, Alya called back and all she could hear was Alya screaming. What a great night to be alive.


	6. The Start of a Beautiful Relationship

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Adrien and Marinette prep for their first date because they're both adorable dorks and both super excited to go on their date

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again for reading and to all of those who left kudos. As if the looming finals weren't enough, I had to get an awful cold and too dazed from cold medicine to write any. But here it is!

                          “Tikki, what do you think of this dress design?”  Marinette’s main obsession for the past few days was looking up a good dress to make for her first date with Adrien. She wanted to look amazing but sometimes being able to make clothes was a curse.

                          “I think you have plenty of dresses already, Marinette,” Tikki giggled and flew over to Marinette’s wardrobe and pulled out a dress out from near the back. “This one is sooo pretty and you’ve never even worn it!”

                          Marinette forgot about the pink dress that she made, embarrassingly enough for when she’d have a date with Adrien. She ran her hands over the silky material, remembering how she spent a disgusting amount of time looking up dress patterns and styles (much like how she was doing now, but that’s neither here nor there). Holding the dress up to her chest, Marinette twirled in front of the mirror. “I’ll look like a princess! Though hopefully not too much like one, France has a bad history with those,” she briefly grimaced at the thought but she was still too happy not to beam.

                          “Marinette! Come make pastries, they need the special-Marinette touch!” Her father called up the stairs. She eyed the hatch suspiciously, knowing ever since she had to explain to them why she had been screaming at 4 in the morning, her parents had been especially…curious. She knew that they had nothing against Adrien in particular, every impression he had ever made had been spectacular after all-of course he was Adrien Agreste after all, it was to be expected.

                          Once she was downstairs, Mama had started questioning her on how she knew Adrien and how long they had been going out and how he expected to pay for Le Meurice on such short notice and an endless list of questions that she had answered all before to both her Mama and Papa. She understood that it was her first date but it seemed like their happiness caused some short-term memory loss.

                          “So how did you meet Adrien again, dear?” her father asked as soon as she had her apron on and in the bakery.

                          “Papa, I already told you he’s been my classmate for years now. Then Alya forcibly made us all get in a study group-she’s the one to thank for all my good grades by the way-and we started hanging out more,” she replied almost robotically.

                          “And when are you going out again?”

                          “Friday at 7pm, 2 days from now. We’re going to Le Meurice.”

                          “Seems a bit expensive for someone in their 10th year,” her Papa said worriedly as he began kneading some dough for their famous rolls.

                          “Ah, but Papa! You forget he’s a model! And with Gabriel Agreste-the famous designer and my idol-as his father, I highly doubt that money is an issue,” she soothed her father’s fears and carried on making pastries, her summer job at the bakery paying the vast majority of her design supplies.

 

* * *

 

                          “Alya, do you want to make me beautiful tonight so that Adrien might want to go out with me again?” Marinette glanced worriedly at her makeup collection, never doing much more than eyeliner and sometimes gloss.

                          “Oh honey, what would you do without me? Though I think he’s become rather smitten with a certain classmate because I know I caught him staring at your ass quite a few times when we went to that club last week. I think VIP treatment suits me well,” Alya joked as she started walking to Marinette’s house.

                          “Goodness, makes me almost upset that this dress has a flouncy skirt. There’s nothing but frilly underskirt,” she joked, but almost half-worried already. She was on the brink of an overemotional breakdown at any possible moment and didn’t want to make a fool of herself in front of Adrien now that she finally got a date with him.

                          “But didn’t you say it was strapless? Well, you two are going to be across from each other so let’s give him something to look at other than your perpetually red face. Of which I am 99.9% sure will be the case,” Alya strategized as she walked, truly an invaluable skill.

                          “You were sent from the gods, Alya!” she ended her call and stared at the outfit she had ready. The dress, black wrap, black shoes (she still needed to coordinate with her Ladybug earrings after all) and her purse for Tikki.

                          “Your goddess Alya has arrived!” Since this was a ‘special occasion’, Alya first spent a great deal of time just prepping Marinette’s face before moving onto the actual applying of goops and powders to her face. And then finally, Alya deemed it her best work yet.

                          “Ooooh, I wanna see!”

                          “No no, you must see all of it together. Makeup, clothes, jewelry, everything darling,” Alya demanded and began picking through Marinette’s jewelry box. Marinette scowled as she put on the dress, glad she had the forethought to refit it since she had grown quite a bit more than she had thought when she first made the dress, maybe in year 1 of her crush on Adrien.

                          She slipped into the shoes and was soon given a handful of jewelry. She didn’t recognize the necklace and held it up to the light. It was some type of black metal shaped into the outline of a rose on a black chain. “Is this one yours, Alya?”

                          “It was my Mama’s before she gave it to me for my first date with Nino. I figured that maybe you could use any good vibes left in it for yours,” she grinned before adding, “That being said I will straight up murder you if that is harmed in any way.”

                          “Fair enough,” Marinette agreed as she clasped the necklace and patted it so that it laid right above her cleavage. “Thanks so sooo much, Alya!”

                          “God, you’re pretty. Between us, no one is safe as they all fall into awe at our brilliance!”

                          Noticing that the time was getting closer to 7 than they expected, Marinette and Alya rushed downstairs only to be bombarded with pictures by her parents, since it wasn’t every day that their daughter was going on her first date with anyone, let alone a famous model. When she was finally relinquished, she stood outside waiting for Adrien. She didn’t have to wait long because at almost 6:45 on the dot, a limo pulled up and told her that Adrien had been caught up in some modeling gigs due to a situation and would meet her at the restaurant.

 

* * *

 

                          “How can you not have my favourite type of sparkling water?” Alecia screeched. Alecia was Adrien’s modeling partner for this session and was somehow even more spoiled than Chloe.

                          “Perhaps because it’s too expensive to buy on a regular basis and if you wanted some you should’ve brought it in the first place!” And now the photographer was beginning to snap. Adrien had the urge to get some popcorn to watch this fiasco go down but knew that Nathalie would throw a fit if he indulged in such a fattening treat. And he refused to get the non-buttered, no salt, no fat cardboard she called popcorn.

                          “Well maybe if you actually took good pictures you could afford better things!”

                          “Then get out of my studio!”

                          Everyone stared at the two in shock, nobody kicked out Alecia Dubois. She was the most famous model in Europe. And that now left Adrien without someone to model the latest line in Agreste fashion.

                          “You can’t kick me out!”

                          “Well, I just did so I hope the door hits you on the way out and that you don’t come back until you know how to act like a decent human. You intern, you got a decent face that makeup can fix. It’s your lucky day.” So the actual photographing was delayed until the shy intern was transformed into something model-worthy and given a crash course on how to model.

                          Surprisingly enough, she wasn’t all that bad for someone who learned that hour but hearing nothing but photographer’s suggestions all day everyday had certainly helped her some. But of course, after that one was done, his day was packed with more modeling shoots and various extracurriculars that his father insisted on him doing.

                          “Plagg, what if I can’t make it to the restaurant on time?” Adrien worried as he was allowed a few moments of alone time before he had be somewhere else.

                          “Eat some camembert?” Adrien gave a small glare at his kwami and was even more determined to do everything perfectly so that his schedule was clear past 7 for his first date with Marinette, he was almost giddy.

                          “You did well today, Adrien. I’ll be sure to tell your father about your success in finishing everything ahead of time despite the delay at the shoot,” Nathalie gave a cold recommendation before stalking off to his father’s office.

                          “Ah, it is time for a cat nap!” Plagg shouted gleefully as he flew over to his favourite pillow and was soon fast asleep.

                          “That doesn’t sound too bad, I have a few hours to spare before I have to get ready,” Adrien agreed with his sleeping kwami and plopped onto his bed, asleep before his head even hit the pillow, completely forgetting to plug in his phone to charge.

                          And that he didn’t set any alarms to wake up.

 

* * *

 

                          Marinette started pacing outside the entrance to the restaurant. He was late, VERY late. Checking the time, she sighed again. It was now past 8. She wished that she hadn’t dismissed the chauffer as soon as she got to the restaurant.

                          First she waited inside, expecting Adrien to show up soon full of warm smiles and many apologies for keeping her waiting. But then she got sick of all the people going inside glancing at her with pity so she wandered back outside to wait and sat on the fancy bench outside the doors.

                          She clutched the sheer wrap closer around her as she started her hundredth call to Adrien that night. “Hey Adrien, it’s Marinette! Again. Anyway, we kinda had a date tonight in case you forgot. Or I’m completely wrong and got dressed up for nothing. Wait, a chauffeur picked me up at my house so it was definitely tonight. And yet, you’re still not here. Please call me back soon?”

                          After another half hour or so, Marinette caved in and asked for a ride back home from her parents. They didn’t say anything on the ride home, of which she was grateful. Once she got back into her room she immediately changed into sweatpants and a baggy t-shirt and wiped of all the gunk on her face. And was soon sobbing into her pillow and clutching it for dear life.

                          “It’s alright Marinette! I’m sure he had a reason for not showing, or calling, or texing.”

                          “Tikki, you suck at this,” Marinette started crying more, drying off her tears enough to shoot one last text to Adrien before she started the long process of crying herself to sleep.

 

* * *

 

                          Adrien woke up disoriented in the dark, still dazed from his nap. He scrambled to grab his alarm clock and squinted at the bright numbers on the screen. It was 3:58. His eyes grew larger in shock and fear as he realized that he slept right through his very first date with a girl he genuinely liked. He’d had plenty of publicity dates before but this one was actually special.

                          When he realized that his phone battery had died after the power button failed to illuminate his screen, he quickly plugged it into the charger and winced at all the missed calls and voicemails. Checking his texts first, it was a few from Nino, one from Alya telling him not to fuck up-he already did-and a couple from Marinette, the last one reading simply, “Fuck you.”

                          He groaned and let his head fall back on his pillow. He, Adrien Agreste, had made the biggest fuck up of his life.


	7. Forgiveness and Fights

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Adrien and Marinette's fight come to head and I'm bad at chapter summaries

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspiration struck hard and heavy so I'm glad I got this out so soon after the last (and my longest one to date!).

                          Adrien adjusted his tie nervously as he rang the doorbell. He knew he had messed up, and badly so he had opted for apologizing as soon as his schedule was clear. He had already sent a text message after he finished beating himself up for falling asleep like an idiot. He didn’t get a response so he decided to show up in person, hoping to bribe forgiveness with flowers and fancy chocolates. Thankfully his dad was taking yet another business trip so his days were going to be a lot lighter for the next week or so.

                          “Who is it?” he heard a deep voice from behind the door and it opened to reveal Marinette’s father. “Ah, Adrien! How good to see you again! Oh, umm…Marinette’s not very happy to see you. That is, she’s not home and with…Alya!” he greeted cheerfully enough, but it was clear that he was being coached by someone in the background.

                          “I can wait for her to return, I would like to apologize in person and explain what happened.”

                          The door opened further to reveal a very tired and angry looking Marinette, yet still looking positively adorable in a pair of overlarge sweatpants and t-shirt. “I’m so sorry, Marinette. I know I fuc-uh, messed up badly but it was unintentional and completely an accident. I would like to make it up to you in any way I can.”

                          Marinette stared at him for a moment before slamming the door. He could hear from the doorstep Marinette arguing with her father and presumably Marinette stomping back up to her room.

                          Tom reopened the door sheepishly and apologized for Marinette’s behavior. “It’s all my fault, sir. But I will try anything to make it up to her,” Adrien assured Marinette’s father, desperately hoping her parents weren’t as mad at him as Marinette was. Or as mad he was at himself.

                          Mr. Dupain clapped him on the back and sent him on his way with a box of pastries. Adrien gave a glance to Marinette’s window. He briefly thought about going as Chat again but quickly ruled it out. It would seem suspicious if every time they had a problem, Chat Noir intervened. He gave a sigh, he would have to sort this one out as Adrien. He just hoped that she would let him make it up to her.

 

* * *

 

                          “I don’t think you’re being very fair to Adrien, Marinette,” Tikki scolded as soon as Marinette got back in her room.

                          “I think I’m deservedly angry.”

                          “He sent a text explaining what happened!” Tikki gestured at Marinette’s phone. Picking up her phone, she scrolled through all of their conversations but still couldn’t bring herself to let it go.

                          “He did, but it still doesn’t make up for the fact that I was humiliated and had to wait hours and hours. And after getting myself dolled up for hours no less, and the perfect moment I was expecting was completely ruined. I was mortified.”

                          “But it was a mistake, it’s not like Adrien meant to not show up,” Tikki pleaded, trying to talk sense into her charge.

                          “I know, I know. But still, I just wanna be angry and upset at the moment.” Marinette rested her head on her knees and sighed.

 

* * *

 

                          “Alya, I need your help!” Alya picked up her phone and was surprised to see Adrien’s face on her screen.

                          “What did you do this time?”

                          “I fucked up. Badly. Did Marinette not tell you?”

                          Perking up with interest, Alya sat up straighter. “Nooo, she did not. But do tell. So I can help, I mean.”

                          “Well, it’s a bit of a long story but the short of is that I accidently slept through my date with Marinette and now she’s pissed and won’t talk to me and I don’t know what to do!” Adrien continued babbling but Alya heard enough and cut him off.

                          “Stop. Let me guess, there was a delay in one of your appointments so you tried extra hard for the rest of day to make up for it so you wouldn’t be late and when you got home you collapsed and couldn’t be woken?”

                          “And I forgot to charge my phone. Wait, how did you know if Marinette didn’t tell you?”

                          “I have my ways. Mainly just because I know you. But it was an unintentional mistake but Marinette’s not listening to reason though I’m sure she knows subconsciously it, she’s still upset. She’s been waiting for this moment for years and I’m sure she waited hours for you until she finally gave up and went home,” Adrien winced but she continued on anyway, “Now you have 2 options here: let her wallow for as long as she needs to or you let her know that you won’t take this bullshit because while you did fuck up royally, she’s still overreacting.”

                          “Alright, thanks so much!” Adrien hung up the phone almost immediately after Alya gave her advice. After a beat, she remembered that she forgot to mention that calling Marinette on her BS could majorly backfire sometimes. She scrambled with her phone, impatience making her clumsy. Once she finally pulled up Adrien’s number again and dialed, she got the busy signal.

                          “Fuck.”

 

* * *

 

                          “Alya’s calling!” Tikki yelled, awaking Marinette from her almost nap.

                          Stumbling to her desk, Marinette picked up the phone and swiped to accept the call and mumbled out a hello.

                          “I’m sorry Marinette.”

                          With a glare at her kwami, Marinette answered “Hello, Adrien.” Tikki didn’t look guilty in the slightest, but at this point she was too sleepy to care.

                          “I would like to make it up to you, if I can.”

                          “How about you go back in time and actually show up?” she quickly retorted.

                          Adrien cringed and she almost regretted her words. That is, until Adrien said, “I don’t think you’re being very fair here, Marinette.”

                          “Excuse me?” Forgetting all about sleep, Marinette sat up straighter in her seat and could practically feel her eyes blazing.

                          “It was a mistake-”

                          “To ask me out? It’s alright, I already knew it.”

                          “Now you’re just putting words in my mouth! Listen, I think you’re overreacting about this whole thing,” Marinette’s eyes bugged out and her jaw dropped, “Alya thinks so, too.”

                          “Excuse me? I am _not_ overreacting!”

                          “You’re doing it right now! I’ll call you back when you’re feeling more reasonable,” Adrien sighed.

                          “Don’t bother!” Marinette ended the call and threw her phone onto her chaise. Tucking her legs to her chest, she started sobbing.

                          “Are you okay?” Tikki asked, scared for her charge’s mental well-being, plus the relationship she spent so much time cultivating.

                          “Nooooo,” Marinette wailed. With a sigh, Tikki flew over and tried to nuzzle Marinette in a comforting manner.

                          “So why did you blow up on him like that?”

                          “I don’t knnooowwww!”

                          “That’s not an answer, Marinette!”

                          Marinette opened up her mouth to say something, anything. But when she paused, floundering on what to say to Tikki, she heard a commotion outside. Approaching the window, she saw people screaming and running around frantically. But it all didn't really connect until a vending machine flew up in her vision. Barely having time to dodge, it collided through her window, showering her with glass.

                          “What the shit?” she scrambled up onto her terrace to see what was happening, fearing another akuma attack.

                          “Marinette!” She heard a guttural yell and moments later she saw Chat Noir run down the street and started fighting off the akuma. It was Pierre, a street magician. He often performed near the bakery but he wasn’t very good. Chat gave a solid kick to the akuma’s head before leaping to Marinette’s terrace ledge.

                          “Chat!” she sobbed, thankful for a friendly face. Chat gave a visible sigh of relief, until he noticed that she was covered in glass and bleeding in quite a few areas.

                          “C’mon, Marinette. We gotta get you to the hospital,” Chat held out his hand, but Marinette detected a slight tinge of desperation.

                          “Look out!” Marinette hauled Chat off the ledge when a street post flew up. It sailed right past the roof onto the next street, mere inches from where Chat’s head had been before.

                          “Can you get me down? My room is covered in glass,” she asked, dodging more debris though thankfully it was smaller than street posts and vending machines. She gasped with a sudden realization, “My parents!”

                          Marinette started to go down to her room when Chat scooped her up and took them down to a safer area. “I’ll go get them, you take cover.”

                          Marinette nodded, rushing to a nearby alley to transform. Once the pink light faded and she was standing in her Ladybug costume, thankfully less glass covered than her other outfit. She ran out and passed Chat ushering out her terrified parents. She waved once his eyes flicked towards her and yelled to Chat, “I got Marinette to safety! You take care of the civilians.” Once she received Chat’s nod of recognition, she ran to the next street to Pierre.

                          “I am Magik! I am the _BEST!_ ” Marinette had to stifle a laugh at his ostentatious outfit, a giant floppy purple wizard’s hat covered in silver stars and moons with a similarly fashioned cape over an all-black suit. Plus that name! She couldn’t help it, she snickered.

                          Magik spun around, eyes glowing red. “How dare you laugh at the great Magik? I am the best magician in the world!” To illustrate, he took his wand-a purple rod with an enormous silver crescent moon on the end-and used it to fly a trashcan right at Marinette’s face. She barely dodged in time, but heard a slight _oof_ behind her. Chat was less lucky.

                          “I think it’s the wand!” Chat yelled, running full speed at Magik and kicked him in the chest. Probably payback for the trashcan.

                          “No! It’s that medal on his suit!” Marinette yelled, catching sight of a purple medal pinned to Magik’s chest. She knew that it was special to Pierre since it used to be his father’s. He even used it in his acts some times. Chat groaned and switched to trying to get close enough to grab the medal. But every time he got close, Magik swished his cape around himself and teleported somewhere else.

                          “This is so not fair!” he yelled after Magik teleported yet again, this time on top of a roof. Marinette felt guilty, being so preoccupied with thoughts of Adrien that her fighting was clearly not up to the Ladybug standard.

                          Chat began to notice too. After getting a signpost thrown at her leg, something she easily could have dodged if she hadn’t been distracted, Chat yelled for her to get her head on straight so they could take the akuma down.

                          Forcing all thoughts of Adrien to the back of her mind, they fought tirelessly for hours. Even after she focused her mind to just fighting, she still wasn’t on her A game. And Magik was an A game akuma.

                          But finally, she managed to get her lucky charm, a giant universal remote control, to work and she furiously stomped on the medal, releasing the black butterfly inside. After cleansing the poor butterfly and sharing their customary fist bump of victory, Chat pulled her close and whispered, “Charge up your kwami, we have to talk.”

                          Marinette ran into her family’s bakery and grabbed a few cookies for Tikki to eat before bolting into another nearby alley. The last thing she needed was to face her parents while in Ladybug from or while Tikki was chowing down on their cookies. The fight took a lot out of both of them and while Tikki practically hoovered down the stack of double chocolate chips, Marinette braced herself again the wall and caught her breath and rubbed on the spot on her leg where she got hit. There would definitely be a bruise later. Once they were both finished, Marinette transformed back into Ladybug and searched the Parisian skyline for Chat.

                          Spotting him on the roof adjacent to her own house, she swung over to him. “What’s going on, Ladybug?” he asked as soon as her feet touched the roof.

                          “I-don’t think you need to know that.”

                          “Yeah, I do. Something is up with you and it’s affecting your fighting. We probably could’ve finished off Magik hours ago,” Chat lectured, arms crossed. She wasn’t used to serious Chat but she supposed if the need called for it, he could act properly.

                          Hanging her head in shame, Marinette felt her cheeks blaze. “Remember that guy I had a crush on? We got into a fight and I don’t know if he’ll forgive me. Or I can forgive him.”

                          “Tell me about it. I argued with my girl not too long ago. We’re both in the wrong, but I’m in it for the long haul,” Chat relaxed more, “Whether she messed up or not, I like her a lot. And I would do anything for her.”

                          “I like him a lot too, but we were about to go on a date and he ruined the perfect moment. Everything I was waiting for, g-”

                          “I’m gonna stop you right there,” Chat cut her off, “Because if you were expecting a perfect moment or a perfect man, what have you, it was doomed from the start.”

                          “But he is perfect!”

                          “And he did a very imperfect thing, didn’t he? Nobody is perfect, Ladybug. And you can’t truly like him until you figure that out and like him despite his flaws. Everyone’s got them, even me!” Chat grinned. Marinette simply shoved him in the arm.

                          “Thanks Chat, I think I got a better view on the situation.”

                          “No problem! I think I’ll just wait here though. Just wanna make sure the people who lived here got out okay, their house did seem to take the brunt of the damage.”

                          Marinette gave a thumbs up, but internally screaming on why Chat had to be so damn considerate. Taking a long and circuitous route until she was out of sight, she ducked into another alley to transform again. Thankfully her lucky charm also got rid of the damage to her clothes so she didn’t have to worry about that at least. When she finally got to the bakery, out of breath and wheezing she was immediately crushed by her parents.

                          “We were so worried!” her Papa sobbed while her mother attempted to coax him into lightening up his grip so she wasn’t crushed to death.

                          “I’m sorry! I got covered in glass so when Chat got me down to the ground he ordered me to get to the hospital. But then it was full of people from the attack so by the time I could get looked at the attack was over and everyone was fixed. I’m sorry I missed it though, they were fighting right on our street!” she quickly lied, and hated how she had to do this to her parents.

                          “It was quite the fight! But I don’t think Ladybug was doing so well today? I dunno,” her Mama shrugged. It look quite some time before her parents let her go, but as soon as they had enough time to coddle her, she ran up to her thankfully now glass-free room.

                          Grabbing her phone, she took a deep breath and called Adrien. The phone buzzed for a bit but she sighed in relief when Adrien’s face popped up on the screen. “I’m so sorry, Adrien!” she blurted out.

                          “I’m sorry, too.”

                          “That akuma, Magik, nearly killed me! Like, a vending machine flew into my room!” Adrien’s face paled, but she cut him off before he could say anything, “But it got me thinking that I shouldn’t be upset about things that aren’t your fault because if I had died at that moment then the last thing you would’ve remembered me by was our stupid fight. Because it was my fault for thinking everything would be perfect when we started going out. You’re not perfect and I shouldn’t have wanted a perfect moment because anything would’ve been a disappointment. Though I do think you get pretty close.”

                          Adrien paused for a beat before giving a heartthrob-worthy smirk, “We’re going out?”

                          Marinette blushed from her hairline to her toes, “I-If you’ll still have me.”

                          “Meet me at the park near school in an hour, I want to do something I can’t do over the phone.” With that, Adrien hung up the phone and left Marinette with feelings of giddiness and confusion swirling inside her stomach.

                          After considering changing into nice clothes for a beat, she decided against it. She would come as she was, in the clothes he always saw her in. The biggest struggle was getting her parent’s permission to go outside, however. Parents were usually disinclined to let their kids out after dark when they were nearly smashed to bits by a vending machine.

                          “But I have to go see Adrien!” Marinette regretted how whiny her voice sounded, though she was glad that she didn’t stamp her foot in frustration.

                          But her Papa surprised her by ending his argument mid-sentence and ushering her out the door, much to her Mama’s confusion. Once they were out the door, he pulled her close and said in hushed tones, “Adrien seems like a nice boy and if he’s willing to put up the infamous Cheng stubbornness then you keep him.”

                          Marinette stood up on tip-toe and kissed him on the cheek, “Thank you so much, Papa!” She ran to the park, grinning from ear to ear like a madwoman. When she neared the park, she checked the time on her phone and groaned that she had, in her overexcitement, arrived 30 minutes early. She kicked a pebble at the gates and resigned herself to taking a walk around the block a few times. She’d feel terrible if Adrien thought that he had kept her waiting again.

                          Several blocks later, she managed to both delay time and ease the butterflies that previously swarmed her stomach. Taking a deep inhale, she strode through the main entrance. And what she saw took her breath away.

                          She gazed at the twinkle lights draped over the bushes and a row of candles leading to up to the fountain, leading to the main event. Adrien beamed at her and gestured for her to join him. Walking as if in a daze, she followed the trail and took his hand.

                          “Adrien, I-” Adrien silenced her by pressing his finger to her lips. Cupping her face within his hands, he angled his head and her eyes fluttered shut. His lips pressed against hers and she sighed in a mixture of happiness and contentment. When they finally broke apart for air, Marinette’s knees buckled and she collapsed onto the fountain’s ledge.

                          “Are you sure you aren’t perfect?” Marinette sighed, looking up at Adrien with half-lidded eyes.

                          “Now, Marinette. I’m far from perfect. But I do hear I get pretty close,” Adrien smirked as he sat down beside her and took her hand in his own. Marinette playfully nudged Adrien with her shoulder.

                          “But Marinette,” Adrien took her hand and placed it in his lap, “If I was really perfect, I would’ve realized my grave oversight much sooner.”

                          “Oversight?”

                          “Marinette Dupain-Cheng, will you give me the great honour of being my girlfriend?”

                          “I suppose I can,” she smiled shyly, gazing down at her feet. Adrien cupped her cheek in his hand again and began their second kiss, this time now properly together. And she was sure that if God wanted to create a perfect man, he would model him after Adrien Agreste.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the final chapter! If there's any interest in a reveal fic sequel, I'll write one!! But it's also summer and I have 2 jobs and 0 internet, so it'd be until fall.


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